1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of ovens and dryers.
2. Description of Prior Art
A variety of corn and flour flatbread products, such as tortillas and chips, are made by large, specialized ovens. A standard oven in the flatbread industry consists of multiple decks upon which the products travel as they are being cooked. Each deck typically includes a conveyor belt rotating around several latitudinal cooking burners which extend from one side of an oven to an opposite side.
Many problems exist with current ovens. The latitudinal burners create an uneven heat spectrum across the width of an oven. Since heat tends to escape from the left and right sides of the oven, temperature crests in the center of the oven. Latitudinal burners do not allow for satisfactory temperature adjustment across the width of an oven. Furthermore, latitudinal burners also require long pilot runners that extend substantially throughout the entire length of each deck so as to cover all the latitudinal burners on the deck. Since modern safety codes require pilot runners to keep burning as long as the cooking burners are in use, such pilot runners consume a tremendous amount of BTUs.
Not only do typical ovens consume a great deal of energy, they also require a tremendous amount of time and monetary expense to build. Since several latitudinal burners are required to complete each deck, costs abound in supplying not only the burners themselves, but all the modular components such as fittings necessary to connect the burners to their respective manifolds. For the same reason, expenses are great when connecting extensive pilot burners. More pieces equate to greater complexity which ultimately requires more time and manpower to assemble.
Ovens with latitudinal burners are inefficient. Since a latitudinal burner extends from one side to the other, heat is unnecessarily applied to areas between rows of products. In ovens with belt supports that travel from one side to the other, such as chevron belt supports, heat is also unnecessarily applied to the belt supports.
An oven has an infeed end, an outfeed end, and a horizontal plane. The oven comprises a movable carrier to support a product to be heated. The carrier is movable in a first longitudinal direction between the infeed end and the outfeed end. The oven comprises at least one deck of longitudinal burners disposed on the horizontal plane. Each of the longitudinal burners extends in a second longitudinal direction between the infeed end and the outfeed end. The first longitudinal direction is defined as the direction in which a product would travel as it is being transported by the movable carrier. The second longitudinal direction as well as any subsequent longitudinal directions of any further burners are diagonal to the first longitudinal direction. Since the burners are angled diagonally relative to the direction of movement of the movable carrier, the burners thus extend in a direction slightly diagonal to the path of travel of the product.
A latitudinal pilot runner extends across the deck of longitudinal burners from the a first side of the oven to the opposing second side. A length of the latitudinal pilot runner is substantially less than a length of each longitudinal burner. An infrared burner is disposed above the deck of longitudinal burners. A flexible connector coupled to each longitudinal burner. The flexible connector comprises a bellows.
The longitudinal burners may be substantially parallel with each other. Alternatively, the longitudinal burners may be oriented in a V-formation wherein the back end of each burner is pointed either toward or away from the center longitudinal axis of the oven.
The oven may comprise a plurality of decks of burners wherein each deck is disposed on a horizontal plane. Each horizontal plane has an X-axis in the first longitudinal direction and a Y-axis orthogonal to the X-axis. Each longitudinal burner comprises a front end and a back end. The front end and back end of each the longitudinal burner defines a width span along the Y-axis. The width span of each longitudinal burner substantially covers a cross-dimension of a target product supported by the movable carrier.
The longitudinal burners are adjustable in length. The oven further comprises a control mechanism coupled to each longitudinal burner to individually control a level of combustion for each longitudinal burner. A pressure or temperature gauge may be coupled to each upper longitudinal burner and each lower longitudinal burner.
In another aspect, the invention comprises a deck of burners in an oven. The oven includes a horizontal plane, an infeed end, an outfeed end, and a longitudinal axis on the horizontal plane. The longitudinal axis is defined between a first center point on the infeed end and a second center point on the outfeed end. The deck of burners comprises a first longitudinal burner and a second longitudinal burner. Alternatively, the oven may comprise simply one slanted burner. The first longitudinal burner has a first outfeed end that is horizontally angled from a first infeed end. The first outfeed end and the first infeed end define a first burner axis that is non-parallel with the longitudinal axis. The second longitudinal burner is positioned adjacent to the first longitudinal burner on the horizontal plane. The second burner has a second outfeed end that is horizontally angled from a second infeed end. The second outfeed end and the second infeed end define a second burner axis that is non-parallel with the longitudinal axis. A control mechanism may be coupled to each of the first longitudinal burner and the second longitudinal burner to control a level of combustion for each burner.
In another aspect, the oven comprises a first longitudinal burner disposed on a substantially horizontal plane, a second longitudinal burner disposed on the substantially horizontal plane, a first control mechanism to control a first level of combustion of the first longitudinal burner, and a second control mechanism to control a second level of combustion of the second longitudinal burner. A longitudinal axis on the horizontal plane is defined by a first center point on the front end and a second center point on the back end. The first longitudinal burner has a first infeed end, a first outfeed end, and a first burner axis defined by the first infeed end and the first outfeed end. The first burner axis is non-parallel with the longitudinal axis. The second longitudinal burner has a second infeed end, a second outfeed end, and a second burner axis defined by the second infeed end and the second outfeed end. The second burner axis is non-parallel with the longitudinal axis.
The invention further comprises a method for heating a product with a cross-dimension in an oven having a right side, a left side, an infeed end, and an outfeed end. The method comprises: moving a product in a first longitudinal direction between the infeed end and the outfeed end; placing a burner in a second longitudinal orientation between the infeed end and the outfeed end, the second longitudinal direction being diagonal to the first longitudinal direction; and heating the product with the burner as the product moves along the first longitudinal direction.
The method further comprises the following, each of which may be independent of or in combination with each other: providing a controlling mechanism to vary a combustion level of the burner; coupling a gauge to the burner; providing a latitudinal pilot runner to ignite the burner; adjusting a length of the burner; adjusting a position of a front end of the burner by moving the front end toward a right side or a left side of the oven; and adjusting a position of a back end of the burner by moving the back end toward a right side or a left side of the oven.
In another aspect, the invention comprises a method for cooking products in an oven. The method comprises: moving a first product and a second product in a first longitudinal direction between the infeed end and the outfeed end; placing a first burner on a horizontal plane and in a second longitudinal orientation between the infeed end and the outfeed end, the second longitudinal direction being diagonal to the first longitudinal direction; placing a second burner on the horizontal plane and in a third longitudinal orientation between the infeed end and the outfeed end, the third longitudinal direction being diagonal to the first longitudinal direction; coupling a control mechanism to the first burner to control a level of combustion of the first burner; and coupling a control mechanism to the second burner to control a level of combustion of the second burner.
The method further comprises coupling a first gauge to the first burner and coupling a second gauge to the second burner.
In conclusion, an oven includes single or multiple decks of longitudinal burners extending from an infeed end to an outfeed end of a body. The burners are slanted relative to a direction of a movable carrier such that a product traveling on the carrier will be heated continuously from one side to the other by a burner whose orientation is diagonal to the product""s path of travel. Thus, the burners are slanted relative to the direction of the moving product. The proportion of air and gas may be separately controlled for each deck. Furthermore, each burner may be individually controlled and monitored to maintain a desired temperature within the body. Latitudinal pilot runners extend across the width of the oven to ignite and maintain the longitudinal burners. Infrared burners above the top deck initially heat a product to either seal in or eliminate moisture. The invention further comprises a method for heating a product.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that the invention greatly increases efficiency by reducing the number of parts necessary to assemble the oven and by reducing the amount of BTUs used in operating such an oven.
The invention, now having been briefly summarized, may be better visualized by turning to the following drawings wherein like elements are referenced by like numerals.